ANTIOCH, Calif. -- A despairing man, so distraught about his impending divorce that he threatened six weeks ago to kill his two children, shot them to death yesterday and then turned the gun on himself, destroying, with three bullets, the "all-American dream family."After hearing those shots shortly after 1 p.m., police broke into the master bedroom of the house at 4745 Hunter Peak Court and found the body of Joel Dennis Souza, 35, of Antioch.They also found fatally wounded 8-year-old Nicholas and 5-year-old Cherie.

When the shuttle returns him to his dorm each weekday evening, Pete DeSouza makes certain the driver doesn't pass the campus intersection where he had a severe motor-scooter accident last month that has come back to him in nightmares. "I actually have them go a different way to take me home because I really don't want to go there at night," said DeSouza, a 6-foot-6, 288-pound Maryland offensive tackle who spoke to the news media Tuesday for the first time since he suffered multiple fractures in both legs in the Oct. 21 evening crash.

The week before the season began, offensive tackle R.J. Dill sat in the Gossett Football Team House auditorium and talked about how welcome it would be to have stability on the line. All the opening-day starters — Dill and Justin Gilbert at tackle, Paul Pinegar at center and guards Andrew Gonnella and Justin Lewis — appeared in multiple games a year ago and had grown accustomed to playing together. "The O-line is about five people playing together," Dill said then. Dill couldn't have known that, like last season, Maryland would be beset by offensive-line injuries.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The U.S. Olympic men's basketball team won its first two qualifying games by an average of 62 points, but that apparently wasn't enough for veteran Brazil guard Marcel De Souza.De Souza is eager to face his NBA idols, and when the historic first meeting takes place -- probably in the final of the Tournament of the Americas on Sunday -- neither he nor his celebrated teammate Oscar Schmidt wants the Dream Team to hold back."I hope, honestly, that the USA-NBA, All-Pro, All-Universe team will play the best they can," De Souza said at a news conference after Brazil (3-0)

County housing fair scheduled for Saturday Anne Arundel County will hold Housing Fair 2004 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday in celebration of Homeownership Month. The event will take place at the Chesapeake Arts Center, 194 Hammonds Lane in Brooklyn Park. Featured will be exhibits, presentations and general information about various housing and homeownership improvement programs and opportunities available to county residents. Attendees can talk with housing counselors, lenders and real estate agents about their services.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- It was going to be so much fun. Oscar Schmidt and Marcel De Souza were going to fulfill their long-standing dream of playing against the great American professionals. There would be a vast TV audience in Brazil. It would be one of the highlights of their lives.Instead, Brazil will play Puerto Rico today, not in the Tournament of the Americas final. The Brazilians forgot to take care of the necessary business Friday night, losing a 10-point second half lead, missing 13 consecutive shots down the stretch and eventually losing to Venezuela, 100-91.

When the buzzer sounded to end the hockey game between St. Mary's and Archbishop Spalding yesterday, the Saints' bench erupted, with players pouring onto the ice to embrace freshman goaltender Brian Venuti.It appeared St. Mary's had won a league championship or a playoff game. But the cheering was for the Saints' first victory of the season -- a 4-1 upset over Spalding at Piney Orchard in Odenton."This was the Stanley Cup," joked St. Mary's coach Todd Erkman.It may have been, however, the county's version of the Stanley Cup for the two Catholic League rivals in their first seasons with hockey as a varsity sport.

BADALONA, Spain -- As national insults go, the one the United States recently endured at the hands of Brazil falls short of the British burning of Washington.On the other hand, it was the best insult the Dream Team could come up with, so it made do.Challenged by Brazil's irrepressible Marcel Souza to quit playing golf and get serious, the U.S. players plotted the Brazilians' downfall for a month. The schedule finally delivered up their lambs last night, and the Americans barbecued them, 127-83.

By Desmond Ryan and Desmond Ryan,Knight-Ridder News Service | December 30, 1994

In "Street Fighter," a scientist has transformed a man into a superhuman killer by tampering with his mind in a process the screenwriter airily christens "cerebral download." You don't have be Einstein -- or even Frankenstein -- to take this as fair warning to leave your brain in the lobby before confronting Jean-Claude Van Damme's latest homicidal spree.It admittedly would be in the kinder, gentler spirit of the season to label Van Damme's latest farrago of flying fists and feet a career relapse.

Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen and a number of his players criticized the campus newspaper Tuesday for an editorial cartoon making light of the motor-scooter accident that left offensive lineman Pete DeSouza hospitalized with multiple leg fractures. The cartoon by Morgan Noonan in The Diamondback, an independent campus daily, depicts a woman addressing a player in helmet and full pads. "I didn't think there was a game today," she says. The player replies: "There isn't. But I'm afraid to hurt myself on my scooter.

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass.— Maryland right tackle Pete DeSouza had a message for his teammates after a motor-scooter crash left him hospitalized with multiple leg fractures. "The first thing he said was, 'Sorry,'" said offensive coordinator James Franklin , who visited the player late Thursday night. "He felt like he was letting the guys down. " "And then he said, 'Go get the win,' Our guys responded to it very well," Franklin said. DeSouza's crash occurred on campus Thursday night.

Maryland offensive lineman Pete DeSouza, who started the past three games, suffered two broken legs in an accident on his motor scooter and is out for the season, the school said Friday. DeSouza, a right tackle, was expected to have surgery and remain hospitalized through the weekend, according to a Maryland news release. It said he "is expected to make a full recovery, but will be out for the rest of the season. " According to an earlier Department of Public Safety release, DeSouza "was operating a motor scooter traveling westbound on Campus Drive when a motorist turned left in front of DeSouza near the Stamp Student Union.

Hometown : Towson Members: Susan Souza, guitar and vocals Founded: 1987 Style: acoustic rock Influenced by: Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham Nicks, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Johnny Cash Notable: After playing for more than a decade, Souza put her music on hold for about five years to pursue other full-time jobs. But she couldn't stay away from writing and performing. She picked up the guitar again in 2006 and released her first full-length album, Tomorrow's Another Day, in 2008. Quotable: "I had to come back to music," Souza said.

I PULLED INTO WHITE River Junction in July anticipating a born-again Vermont town crackling with artistic energy and a glam organic vibe. Instead, I found a tidy, nearly deserted village and nary a hint of cool. So much for Internet intelligence -- or so I thought. White River Junction's facade served as an ideal ruse for this unsuspecting traveler. I quickly discovered that the village exults in its persona as an arts hub masquerading as a sleepy way station to elsewhere. That anyone would stumble into town expecting instant coolness only escalates the amusement of residents such as Kim Souza, who abides by the village's unofficial motto: "Make your own fun."

I PULLED INTO WHITE River Junction in July anticipating a born-again Vermont town crackling with artistic energy and a glam organic vibe. Instead, I found a tidy, nearly deserted village and nary a hint of cool. So much for Internet intelligence -- or so I thought. White River Junction's facade served as an ideal ruse for this unsuspecting traveler. I quickly discovered that the village exults in its persona as an arts hub masquerading as a sleepy way station to elsewhere. That anyone would stumble into town expecting instant coolness only escalates the amusement of residents such as Kim Souza, who abides by the village's unofficial motto: "Make your own fun."

County housing fair scheduled for Saturday Anne Arundel County will hold Housing Fair 2004 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday in celebration of Homeownership Month. The event will take place at the Chesapeake Arts Center, 194 Hammonds Lane in Brooklyn Park. Featured will be exhibits, presentations and general information about various housing and homeownership improvement programs and opportunities available to county residents. Attendees can talk with housing counselors, lenders and real estate agents about their services.